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Quiz about Operantics I
Quiz about Operantics I

Operantics I Trivia Quiz

Do you consider yourself an operatic connoisseur? Do you think of opera as blood sport? Do you own multiple recordings of not only mainstream operatic works, but also odd corners of the rep reserved for manaical fanatical enthusiasts? If so, sit and eat.

A multiple-choice quiz by hairymuscles. Estimated time: 9 mins.
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Author
hairymuscles
Time
9 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
50,440
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
25
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
12 / 25
Plays
410
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Question 1 of 25
1. The beginnings of verismo in opera are generally considered to date from the winning entry of an one-act opera competition sponsored by the Italian publisher Sonzogno in 1883. The first prize was awarded to Pietro Mascagni for 'Cavalleria Rusticana'. Of the following composers, which did not have an entry in this competition? Hint


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Question 2 of 25
2. Which composer of operetta often signed his autograph with a play on words based on his name and his city of birth? Hint


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Question 3 of 25
3. Which Charles Dickens novel did Giacomo Puccini consider using as the basis for his final opera before choosing a libretto based on Carlo Gozzi's fairy tale drama, Turandot? Hint


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Question 4 of 25
4. Which of the following composers did NOT base an opera on the life of an historical composer? Hint


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Question 5 of 25
5. Most operas have librettos based on plays, novels and other literary works. However, three of the four listed composers produced operas which originated with the paintings, drawings and illustrations of a particular artist. Which of the following composers was NOT inspired to compose an opera based on the actual renderings of an artist? Hint


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Question 6 of 25
6. The late nineteenth-century found Paris divided over the music of Richard Wagner. A small cadre of composers formed a circle that would later be dubbed 'Le petit Bayreuth', the core of the French Wagnerian movement. Which of the following composers was a committed populist and the antithesis of this movement? Hint


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Question 7 of 25
7. American musical theater has its roots in opera and operetta. Which of the following forms is least like our modern American musical comedy? Hint


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Question 8 of 25
8. The characters of Armida (Armide), Rinaldo (Renaud), and Argante (Aronte, Astarotte) all figure in the works listed below. Which is NOT based on Torquato Tasso's 'La Gerusalemme liberata'? Hint


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Question 9 of 25
9. Which of the following operas is NOT part of what was collectively known as 'The English Ring'? Hint


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Question 10 of 25
10. 'The Mighty Handful' or 'The Five' was a group of amateur composers who followed in the wake of Mikhail Glinka, composing works rooted in the Russian Nationalism movement. Which of the following operas was not composed by a member of this group? Hint


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Question 11 of 25
11. Brindisi! Which of the following operas do not have a drinking establishment that figures prominantly in the plot? Hint


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Question 12 of 25
12. In addition to Giacomo Puccini's 'Manon Lescaut', Abbe Prevost's 'Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut' served as a source for a number of operas in a number of languages. Which composer did NOT set a version of this story? Hint


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Question 13 of 25
13. Gioachino Rossini's 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 'Le Nozze di Figaro' are set to libretti based on the first two plays of a trilogy by French dramatist Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais. Which of the following composers did NOT set a version of the final play of the trilogy, 'La mere coupable' (The guilty mother)? Hint


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Question 14 of 25
14. In the film 'Victor Victoria', Julie Andrews plays a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Which of the following trouser roles also has a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman? Hint


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Question 15 of 25
15. Opera has its share of women engaged in the world's oldest profession. Which opera does not have a 'lady of easy virtue' as the heroine? Hint


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Question 16 of 25
16. It is said that art imitates life. Which of the following composers have not written operas with opera singers as principal characters? Hint


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Question 17 of 25
17. Masks are often an important plot element in opera. Which of the following four operas does NOT employ this device? Hint


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Question 18 of 25
18. Which of the following explorers is not a principal character in an opera? Hint


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Question 19 of 25
19. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's tale of Faust who sells his soul to the devil has been used as a source by a number of operatic composers. Which of the following composers has not produced a work based on this source? Hint


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Question 20 of 25
20. All four listed composers wrote operas based on the life of a Roman emperor. Three composed works about the same emperor, while the fourth produced a work about a different emperor. Who is the odd man out? Hint


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Question 21 of 25
21. The final five questions concern opera and Shakespeare. Giuseppe Verdi's 'Falstaff' is a staple of the international repertoire. Which of the listed composers did not write an opera based on the character of Falstaff? Hint


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Question 22 of 25
22. Which of the following operas is NOT based on a work by Shakespeare? Hint


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Question 23 of 25
23. Many composers considered Shakespeare as a source for a libretto at one time or another. Which of the following composers did NOT consider the corresponding play for potential operatic treatment? Hint


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Question 24 of 25
24. Arguably the greatest writer in the English language, Shakespeare has been a source of inspiration to English-speaking composers. Which of the following operas was not based on the play of the same name? Hint


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Question 25 of 25
25. Which one of the following works is NOT based upon William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The beginnings of verismo in opera are generally considered to date from the winning entry of an one-act opera competition sponsored by the Italian publisher Sonzogno in 1883. The first prize was awarded to Pietro Mascagni for 'Cavalleria Rusticana'. Of the following composers, which did not have an entry in this competition?

Answer: Ruggiero Leoncavallo

 While Ruggiero Leoncavallo's 'Pagliacci' (1891) is often paired with Mascagni's work in performance, only Puccini ('Le Villi'), Spinelli ('Labilia') and Giordano ('Marina') entered works in the competition (among seventy-three entries.) Oddly enough, Spinelli, the second place winner, has not remained in the repertory, while Giordano and Puccini are often performed in the opera houses of the world.
2. Which composer of operetta often signed his autograph with a play on words based on his name and his city of birth?

Answer: Jacques Offenbach

 Jacques Offenbach, composer of 'Orphee aux enfers', 'La belle Helene', and 'La Perichole', often signed his name 'O. de Cologne.'
3. Which Charles Dickens novel did Giacomo Puccini consider using as the basis for his final opera before choosing a libretto based on Carlo Gozzi's fairy tale drama, Turandot?

Answer: Oliver Twist

 He also considered subjects as diverse as Victor Hugo's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', Giovanni Verga's 'La Lupa' (The She-Wolf) and Marie Antoinette as the bases for operatic projects.
4. Which of the following composers did NOT base an opera on the life of an historical composer?

Answer: Domenico Cimarosa

 Pfitzner's 'Palestrina', Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Mozart and Salieri', and von Flotow's 'Alessandro Stradella' were based on the lives of actual composers. Cimarosa's 'Il maestro di capella' concerns an imaginary singer-composer preparing an orchestra for a concert.
5. Most operas have librettos based on plays, novels and other literary works. However, three of the four listed composers produced operas which originated with the paintings, drawings and illustrations of a particular artist. Which of the following composers was NOT inspired to compose an opera based on the actual renderings of an artist?

Answer: Paul Hindemith

 Stravinsky's 'The Rake's Progress' was based on etchings of William {Hogarth;} Jules Massenet's 'Don Quichotte' on engravings of Gustave {Dore;} Enrique Granado's 'Goyescas' on paintings of Francisco de Goya. While Paul Hindemith's 'Mathis der Mahler' has the life of German painter Matthias Grunewald as its source, it's primary inspiration was the artist's struggle in a brutal political climate (Catholicism vs. Lutheranism), much like the situation Hindemith found himself during the Nazi's rise to power.
6. The late nineteenth-century found Paris divided over the music of Richard Wagner. A small cadre of composers formed a circle that would later be dubbed 'Le petit Bayreuth', the core of the French Wagnerian movement. Which of the following composers was a committed populist and the antithesis of this movement?

Answer: Leo Delibes

 Friedrich Nietzsche, after his break with Wagner, preferred the music of Leo Delibes, which he appreciated for its lack of depth. Delibes' one enduring operatic work is 'Lakme'. Of the operas of the Wagnerian French movement, 'Gwendoline' (Chabrier), 'Penelope' (Faure) and 'Le roi Arthus' (Chausson) have not carved a permanent place in the international repertory.
7. American musical theater has its roots in opera and operetta. Which of the following forms is least like our modern American musical comedy?

Answer: Intermezzo

 While American musical theater owes much to the commedia dell'arte and buffa elements of the Italian intermezzo, it is most like singspiel, opera comique and ballad opera in that it alternates song forms with spoken dialogue.
8. The characters of Armida (Armide), Rinaldo (Renaud), and Argante (Aronte, Astarotte) all figure in the works listed below. Which is NOT based on Torquato Tasso's 'La Gerusalemme liberata'?

Answer: Rinaldo, George Frideric Handel

 Gluck, Rossini and Dvorak all based their works on {Tasso;} Handel based his opera on an Italian translation of a libretto by Aaron Hill.
9. Which of the following operas is NOT part of what was collectively known as 'The English Ring'?

Answer: The Immortal Hour, Rutland Boughton

 While the works of Balfe, Wallace and Benedict are collectively know as 'The English Ring', Rutland Boughton's 'The Immortal Hour' is the most Wagnerian in compositional style.
10. 'The Mighty Handful' or 'The Five' was a group of amateur composers who followed in the wake of Mikhail Glinka, composing works rooted in the Russian Nationalism movement. Which of the following operas was not composed by a member of this group?

Answer: Mazeppa

 The members of 'The Mighty Handful' were Modest Mussorgsky ('Boris Godounov'), Alexander Borodin ('Prince Igor'), Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov ('Sadko'), Mily Balakirev and Cesar Cui. The composer of 'Mazeppa' was Peter Tchaikovsky, who, while certainly Russian in spirit, is not associated with Russian nationalism.
11. Brindisi! Which of the following operas do not have a drinking establishment that figures prominantly in the plot?

Answer: The Queen of Spades, Peter Tchaikovsky

 The Queen of Spades has an unnamed gambling house in the plot, but only in 'Falstaff' (The Garter Inn), 'La boheme' (Cafe Momus), and 'Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Luther's Tavern) are the characters besottedly located.
12. In addition to Giacomo Puccini's 'Manon Lescaut', Abbe Prevost's 'Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut' served as a source for a number of operas in a number of languages. Which composer did NOT set a version of this story?

Answer: Sergei Prokofiev

 Prokofiev did not set a version of Prevost's {work;} however, both Auber and Massenet wrote an opera titled 'Manon Lescaut' and Henze wrote a version of the story titled 'Boulevard Solitude'.
13. Gioachino Rossini's 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 'Le Nozze di Figaro' are set to libretti based on the first two plays of a trilogy by French dramatist Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais. Which of the following composers did NOT set a version of the final play of the trilogy, 'La mere coupable' (The guilty mother)?

Answer: Antonio Salieri

 Milhaud's 'La mere coupable', Massenet's 'Cherubin', and Corigliano's 'The Ghosts of Versailles' are all loosely based on the final play of Beaumarchais' trilogy. Salieri did set Beaumarchais once: his 'Tarare'.
14. In the film 'Victor Victoria', Julie Andrews plays a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Which of the following trouser roles also has a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman?

Answer: Octavian, Der Rosenkavalier

 Beethoven's Fidelio is a woman disguised as a man in order to rescue her falsely imprisoned {husband;} Mozart's Idamante and Meyerbeer's Urbain are trouser roles sung by {women;} Richard Strauss' Octavian is a trouser role sung by a woman who at one points also pretends to be the maiden Mariandel.
15. Opera has its share of women engaged in the world's oldest profession. Which opera does not have a 'lady of easy virtue' as the heroine?

Answer: Samson et Dalila, Camille Saint-Saens

 While Violetta, Thais, and Lula are involved in some form of prostitution, Dalila is merely the pawn of the High Priest of Dagon.
16. It is said that art imitates life. Which of the following composers have not written operas with opera singers as principal characters?

Answer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold

 Mozart's spears two operatic divas in 'Der {Schauspieldirektor';} Adam's Chappelou is a coachman who is whisked off to sing at the Paris Opera in 'Le postillon de {longjumeau';} Puccini's Tosca is a diva who lives for art and for love. Korngold's Marietta, while singing one of the most sublime arias in the repertory, is a dancer by trade.
17. Masks are often an important plot element in opera. Which of the following four operas does NOT employ this device?

Answer: La straniera, Vincenzo Bellini

 Donna Elvira, Donna Anna and Don Ottavio appear at the act I ball in 'Don {Giovanni';} the final act of 'Un ballo in maschera' takes place at a costume {ball;} Rosalinde appears at Prince Orlofsky's ball wearing a mask to avoid being recognized by her husband. Bellini's la Straniera wears a veil, rather than a mask, to hide her identity.
18. Which of the following explorers is not a principal character in an opera?

Answer: Ferdinand Magellan

 'Fernando Cortez' is an opera by Gasparo Spontini, Vasco da Gama figures in Giacomo Meyerbeer's 'L'Africaine', and Christopher Columbus is a character is operas by Alberto Franchetti, Darius Milhaus and Philip Glass. Ferdinand Magellan is the odd-man out.
19. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's tale of Faust who sells his soul to the devil has been used as a source by a number of operatic composers. Which of the following composers has not produced a work based on this source?

Answer: Ferruccio Busoni

 Gounod's 'Faust', Boito's 'Mefistofele' and Berlioz' 'La damnation de Faust' are all based on {Goethe;} Busoni's 'Doktor Faustus' was based on Christopher Marlowe's 'Doktor Faustus'.
20. All four listed composers wrote operas based on the life of a Roman emperor. Three composed works about the same emperor, while the fourth produced a work about a different emperor. Who is the odd man out?

Answer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

 Monteverdi's 'Il coronazione di Poppea', Boito's 'Nerone' and Mascagni's 'Nerone' concern Roman emperor {Nero;} Mozart's 'La clemenza di Tito' concerns Roman emperor Titus.
21. The final five questions concern opera and Shakespeare. Giuseppe Verdi's 'Falstaff' is a staple of the international repertoire. Which of the listed composers did not write an opera based on the character of Falstaff?

Answer: Camille Saint-Saens

 Salieri's 'Falstaff', Nicolai's 'Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor', and Vaughan William's 'Sir John in Love' are all based on Shakespeare's Falstaff, found in his plays 'The Merry Wives of Windsor and 'Henry IV'. Camille Saint-Saens did compose an opera on the life of another corpulent philanderer - Henry VIII.
22. Which of the following operas is NOT based on a work by Shakespeare?

Answer: Giulio Cesare, George Frideric Handel

 The Berlioz is based on 'Much Ado about {Nothing';} the Wagner on 'Measure for {Measure';} the Goetz on 'The Taming of the Shrew'. While 'Julius Caesar' is a Shakespearean work, Handel's opera is not based upon it.
23. Many composers considered Shakespeare as a source for a libretto at one time or another. Which of the following composers did NOT consider the corresponding play for potential operatic treatment?

Answer: Twelfth Night, Modest Mussorgsky

 Mussorgsky, with his life-long and destructive love of vodka, would have hardly had the personality for a Shakespearean comedy. The remaining three composers all considered their subjects for operatic treatment, Beethoven even composing some music for the witches in Macbeth which he later incorporated into his 'Ghost' piano trio.
24. Arguably the greatest writer in the English language, Shakespeare has been a source of inspiration to English-speaking composers. Which of the following operas was not based on the play of the same name?

Answer: Troilus and Cressida, William Walton

 Purcell, Britten and Barber all used Shakespeare as a source for their operas, while Walton chose to use Geoffrey Chaucer as his source.
25. Which one of the following works is NOT based upon William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'?

Answer: A Village Romeo and Juliet, Frederick Delius

 Bellini, Gounod and Zandonai all used Shakespeare as source for their {work;} Delius based his opera on a story by Gottfried Keller (Romeo and Juliet do not appear as {characters;} their reference is in the title alone.)
Source: Author hairymuscles

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bullymom before going online.
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